Junta
by Punisher Ops
Summary: Doubting the reforms, Frank assists the Burmese resistance to rescue their captive democratic leader and to overthrow their shadowy junta oppressors.


Junta

Punisher

1

Irrawaddy River; North Central Myanmar

Under the cover of night, Frank Castle and his hired Burmese boat crew traveled discreetly southward down the Irrawaddy River toward Yangon, the capital. Once there, he would hook up with the Burmese resistance to teach them the advanced combat arts, rescue their rightfully elected democratic leader, Ying Shu Tak, from long-term disgraceful house arrest, and fight alongside them to end the military government that had brutalized the Burmese people for so long.

It wouldn't be easy - it wouldn't be without bloodshed.

Frank was the ideal man for this mission. He had nothing personal left to lose, worked for no government, and had the extensive military training to give the much smaller resistance a solid tactical edge with which to fight this so-called government of petty tyrants and sadistic war criminals.

It was at times like this that Frank actually loved being the Punisher. He didn't have to worry about following some bureaucratic asshole's orders or some self-serving dumbass politician anymore. He could literally pick the fights he wanted to fight in his eternal war against evil – the fights that truly mattered. And whether they were common street thugs or corrupt heads of state, they were all criminals. And if they were criminals, then for him, they became targets. For in Frank Castle's mind there were only two different kinds of people – guilty and innocent. One kind never needed to fear him. The other...his agenda for them was nothing short of genocide.

The genocide of criminality.

The mere thought of that made him give a rare smile...

[We're nearing the village,] said Po Mau, in Burmese, from the boat's rear.

From the boat's fore, Frank replied, [I can see the village lights from here, Po Mau. Thanks.]

Po Mau was a former soldier in the Myanmar army, the Tatmadaw, and had deserted after witnessing an atrocity of the Karen people, an ethnic minority in the country. He'd since joined the resistance to help. Upon meeting him, it hadn't taken long for Frank and him to form a fast friendship.

[Are you sure we can get these villagers trained for the kind of fight that lays ahead?] Po Mau asked, joining Frank at the boat's fore.

[They're strong-willed. They just need the skills and supplies to go with it,] said Frank.

Po Mau nodded, agreeing with Frank's strategic assessment. Most in the resistance had suffered at the hands of the Tatmadaw in one form or another, so the common desire for payback was there. What was needed beyond training and supplies however was the ability to both show the world and their enemy that they were not some mere angry rabble but indeed an organized force capable of achieving significant tactical victories to prove at nothing less than having their freedom – or die trying.

In all of his time as the Punisher, Frank had amassed a fortune of fifty million dollars from all the criminals he'd slain. For this one cause alone, he was putting ten to twenty million of that blood money back into a righteous fight – this fight – and had called in many favors from his global network of allies to see it done. He was having weapons and supplies brought in from all over so to arm the resistance once they were trained and ready. That combined with Tatmadaw raids should keep them supplied for quite some time. And once the resistance proved it was a true army to be feared, their ranks would likely grow with new members when convinced they could win.

They arrived at the village that was sympathetic to the resistance's cause.

The village's ranking elder, an old man named Pak, met them with a small number of villagers.

[Thank you for receiving us, honored elder,] Po Mau said.

[Of course,] said Pak. He noticed the foreigner approach. [And this is the rogue American you spoke of?]

[It is. His name is Castle – and may prove to be the best ally Burma ever had in the difficult days ahead,] Po Mau said.

[I don't speak their tongue,] said Pak.

Frank held up a hand. [It's all right, elder. My Burmese should be adequate for my time here.]

Pak was impressed. [I see. Well – Castle – is it true that your government is not responsible for sending you here?]

[That's correct, elder. I'm wanted by my country as much as the junta wants me. I'm here because I choose to be.]

Reaching into a jacket vest, Frank pulled out a small box of cards and handed them to Po Mau. Po Mau opened and pulled them out. They were Punisher calling cards.

[This is the symbol I wage war by – the war for justice and righteousness. If you wish, let it be a symbol of resistance and liberation for you as well.]

Po Mau handed some of the cards to Pak and the other villagers.

As Pak looked at the white skull, he gave a small sob. [My son was murdered by the junta. He was only a small boy...]

Frank stepped over to Pak and rested a hand on his shoulder. [My family too was murdered by criminals. The Tatmadaw and its junta masters are thugs with power, nothing more. And despite whatever reforms come through, the corrupt will still thrive from the shadows like roaches. We must take the fight to them and wipe them all out. That is the only way the freedom for Burma will be true and lasting.]

The gathered people agreed with Frank.

[I won't leave your side until this fight is finished, or if I can't fight with you anymore. And while I'm obviously not Burmese, freedom is not just a Burmese or American right – it's a human right.]

The Burmese hoisted their fists into the air and yelled their hearty agreement.

The true revolution for Burma's freedom had begun.


End file.
